Student Finance and Progression

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Student Finance and Progression

• Rachel Broster
• Student Money Adviser
• Money Doctors Service
• Student Advice Centre
• Staffordshire University Students Union

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• Who am I?
• Student Money Adviser in the Student Advice
  Centre (part of Staffordshire University
  Students Union).
• Members of AdviceUK, NASMA, the IMA and the CLS.
• Part of the FSAs Money Doctors project which
  seeks to support students in understanding and
  managing their finances prior to and during their
  time at University. See www.fsa.gov.uk/financial_c
  apability
• for further information
• on the project.

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• In this part of the session we will look at
• Update on current HE funding and finance issues.
• Is Finance a barrier to progression and if so,
  for which students?
• Possible solutions.
• Further questions.

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• Update on current finance and funding issues
• We currently have 3 student funding systems in
  place for full-time students and are about to
  have 4 as the Government keep making changes.
• Those who began study before September 2006 (old
  funding system students) who pay a maximum of
  1250 tuition fees and can receive a grant from
  the Local Authority to cover this amount if their
  household income is low enough.
• Those who began study after September 2006 (new
  funding system students) who pay top-up fees of
  3145 and can apply for a tuition
• fee loan to cover the cost of these.

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• Those who began study in September 2008 who had
  no previous study at HE level. New household
  income thresholds were introduced for the
  Maintenance Grant and University Bursary.
• Those who will be entering HE in September 2009.
  It has been proposed that the maximum amount of
  student loan increase, that a greater percentage
  of the student loan be means-tested and the
  maintenance grant household income thresholds be
  decreased. Regulations for 09 still need to be
  approved by Parliament.
• So the financial support a student receives
  depends
• not only on their household income but also upon
  when they began their studies.
• Funding system also differs in Scotland and
  Wales.

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• b) The introduction of Student Finance England
• Continuing students can make their applications
  on a PN1 form to their Local Authority.
• Students entering HE in Sept 09, will need to
  make applications to Student Finance England on a
  PN1 form from Spring 2009.
• www.studentfinanceengland.co.uk (formerly
  Student Finance Direct. They answer queries and
  do assessments)
• www.slc.co.uk
• (make payments to the student)

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• So.
• The current funding system is complex and is in a
  season of change due to Local Authorities being
  phased out in favour of a centralised student
  finance system for England and the Regs not yet
  having been approved in Parliament for 09
  entrants to HE.
• Students and their parents can find this
  confusing as they quite rightly want certainty
  about what they
• will be entitled to.

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• Is finance a barrier to progression and if so,
  for which students?
• Key points from the Sutton Trust Research
  published in 2007 which was conducted with
  students.
• Some students are worried about debt and so have
  decided not to come to University because they
  are not sure it represents value for money or if
  they will succeed in passing the course.
• Some students are worried about debt but are
  still choosing to come to University. Some of
  these students are looking at how they can reduce
  debt by living at home and studying locally.

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• Bursaries only make a difference to students
  deciding to come to University if they are large.
  
• Most students make their choice re whether to
  study in HE before they are aware of the
  financial support available to them.
• Debt averse students are less likely to enter HE
  than those who are debt tolerant and students
  from poorer backgrounds and lower socio-economic
  backgrounds are more debt adverse. They also
  over-estimate the debt they will accrue.

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• Non-traditional and marginal groups know the
  least about student finance.
• Those students who have decided to come to
  University say finance is important to them but
  they dont spend a lot of time researching it,
  see debt as part of coming to University and are
  not actively saving towards the cost of
  University. The amount of debt hasnt convinced
  them that its not worth coming.
• Mature students willing to take on debt because
  they were convinced of the benefits of going to
  University.

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• So finance is a barrier to the debt averse
  student progressing to HE because they do not
  wish to get into debt when they cannot see the
  value/benefits of HE or are not confident that
  they will succeed on the course.

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• For those who are confident they will succeed on
  the course and can see the value of HE, although
  they are still worried about debt and finance,
  this does not deter them from coming to
  University as this is their goal. Getting into
  debt is seen as a necessary means of achieving
  this goal.

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• Possible solutions to encourage progression
  amongst the debt averse
• Ensure that the debt averse student receives the
  correct financial information re what they are
  entitled to financially as they may over-estimate
  the debt they will accrue (as well as when and
  how this needs to be repaid) and underestimate
  the financial support available to them in the
  form of grants and bursaries that they will not
  need to repay. This is my experience on Open Day
  stalls and in appointments with students.

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• Help them to plan what their potential income and
  expenditure at University would be as some
  students find they can save money which they can
  then put towards reducing their debt.
• There are also some students who dont need to
  take out the full tuition fee loan as they can
  afford to pay some of their tuition fees
  themselves. i.e. Social Work students. Other
  students may be able to work part-time and reduce
  their debt.

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• Debt averse students may wish to consider
  studying part-time. i.e. Do 90 CATS per year and
  complete a degree within 4 years. They could
  apply for a fee grant to cover the cost of their
  part-time fees and work to cover their living
  costs. They would then leave University with no
  debt.
• But these things alone may not encourage the debt
  averse student to apply to University. They also
  need to be confident that they will succeed and
  they need to see the value of HE to them.

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• Questions/Discussion?

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OUR CONTACT DETAILS AND QUESTIONS.

• Money Doctors
• Student Advice Centre
• Staffordshire University Students Union
• College Road
• Stoke on Trent
• ST4 2DE
• [phone]
• moneydoctors_at_staffs.ac.uk
• www.staffsunion.com/moneydoctors